


Authentic Aquatic Acting

by PixelatedCroww



Category: GTLive, Game Theory - Fandom, The Film Theorists - Fandom, The Game Theorists - Fandom, film theory
Genre: F/M, GTLive - Freeform, Game Theory, Jason is the BFF everyone needs, LIKE SUPER LONG, Mermaid!Matthew, Mermaids, Merman!Matthew, Mermen, Mermen AU, Oneshot, Ro is in there as well for like 3 seconds, Stephew, film theory - Freeform, its a oneshot btw, mermaid au, merman, merman au, really long, stephpat - Freeform, there are like 4 swears in here i think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-28
Updated: 2018-01-28
Packaged: 2019-03-10 11:12:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13500632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PixelatedCroww/pseuds/PixelatedCroww
Summary: Matthew is this beach’s local merman actor, singing and flirting for people’s pleasure -and also food-, but will his act be up when he meets a shy, yet beautiful scientist who just wants to study him?





	Authentic Aquatic Acting

…

The sun is hot.

Well of course the sun is hot, it is a giant ball of burning gas in space after all, but to be more specific, the beach was hot. Matthew was hot, even as he sat on a massive, damp, seaweed ridden pipe that ran out into the ocean. His persistently wet shirt felt like it was sticking to his skin from his sweat, and not from the salt water he was just swimming through. He hated sweating so much it made him wish he was all fish sometimes. Despite all his discomfort caused by the heat, the seaweed he sat on made him feel at least 5% more comfortable. 

Today was a perfectly overcast day, making it a great day to hang out at the beach, which was reflected in the above average number of people enjoying the beach today. Matthew’s attention shifted from people playing and swimming in the water, to people chatting and playing games on the beach, gaining a little enjoyment from watching their fun. His tail flipped gently in his enjoyment, the normally seaweed green, and black scales shimmering in a gold tint under the sun that is so obviously hot. Matthew’s tail stopped flipping when he heard some chatting near him, and he turned his head to the side and squinted.

“I’m still so mad about that jerk, he should have at least done it in person.” The chatting got louder, and Matthew quickly recognized the girls carefully making their way up the long, seaweed covered pipe.

“Yeah, what a dick move.” Another girl, who Matthew knew as Jenna spoke. 

The merman took a short breath in preparation of getting into character. Matthew wasn’t exactly seen as the same merman to everyone on the beach, he was an actor, and enjoyed playing different characters around other people. Only one person had managed to see through his act thus far, but that was a story for another day, for at least right now, he was no longer Matthew the Merman, he was Matthew the Gay Merman.

Matthew the (Temporarily) Gay Merman held up a hand to the girls coming towards him, putting on a big smile.

“Hey Matthew!” Another girl with long blond hair pulled into a high ponytail spoke, picking up her pace a little bit as she saw him wave.

“Hey girl!” Matthew spoke in his best, but not over the top, gay voice. The blond girl arrived next to the merman, squatting next to him, and shortly afterwards the other two girls arrived.

“How’s it going?” The blond girl asked casually.

“I’m great! What about you Marzia?” He replied, fiddling with his fins in a girly fashion.

“I’m good, but Rosanna isn’t.” Matthew thought back to the small piece of their pervious conversation that he had heard, from what he assumed, it didn’t seem very pretty. Rosanna, the brunette in question, didn’t look very happy when the merman peered at her. Matthew gasped out of genuine concern.

“Why, what happened girl?” He asked, politely ignoring the fact that he has already over heard the answer to his question.

“Her boyfriend broke up with her.” Jenna the girl with blue sunglasses and black hair answered. Matthew frowned, despite the fact he was acting, he still rather cared for the people he’d become close with, so hearing that Ro had been broken up with really upset him. Rosanna stayed silent.

“God…” Matthew answered, upset.

“And it was over the phone too. He didn’t even do it in person.” Marzia spoke again, Rosanna’s head sunk further.

“God, that’s even worse,” Matthew answered again, looking back to Rosanna in concern, “Are you okay girly?” He asked. Rosanna sighed, and finally spoke.

“I guess.” She said softly, sitting down on the slimy seaweed, not caring about getting her shorts gross and wet. There was an odd moment of silence as Matthew shifted his tail to face the girls better.

“We’ve been out all day to help her feel a little better, and we thought we’d come see you as well.” Jenna said. Matthew smiled at the gesture. He turned to Rosanna.

“Well, if I can say anything, it’s that there are lots of other fish in the sea, darling.” Matthew smiled, but cringed inside. Rosanna giggled a little.

“That was the worst thing I have heard, ever.” Marzia frowned. 

“Well it made Rosanna laugh!” Matthew begrudgingly defended himself. 

“I guess you’re right.” Marzia sighed. Matthew looked back to Rosanna, who now had a small smile on her lips. The merman felt a little better. 

“We brought you a corn dog by the way.” Jenna leaned down and held out said corn dog. As Mat grabbed the fair food, his stomach growled in hunger, and he was reminded how thankful he was of his friendships. Matthew grinned.

“Girl you know I love corn dogs.” He hungrily took a bite of the corn dog.

…

Matthew ended up having a delightful conversation with the three girls. The fact that the girls had come to see him to make Rosanna feel better made him feel a little less guilty about his acting, but even if he felt less guilty, it still didn’t mean the guilt wasn’t there, even if the corn dog was nice snack.

The merman lay underneath one of the docks on the beach, which was also a popular site for people to jump into the ocean from. The beach was still fairly filled, but as the ever so hot sun was beginning to set, people were starting to filter home, and the underside of the dock was now starting to become peacefully quiet. The quiet gave the merman time to think.

Matthew had always been a lone merman, living by himself ever since he could remember. It wasn’t easy for him living on his own, and he never felt truly accepted within his own race, but again that is a story for another day. He didn’t feel welcome anywhere, until he washed up on the shore of this very beach, some people had feed him, some had tried to help him back into the ocean. He hadn’t ever run into humans before hand, but he thought that if more people were like them, he could live a comfortable life at the beach, mooching from humans. 

As the merman began his life on the beach, he slowly began to notice that some people meshed with certain personalities better then others, and he could therefore make better connections with those people, resulting for him, more food. Mat started playing characters around certain people, making friendship with them as different versions of ‘Matthew the Merman’, like ‘Matthew the Gay Merman’ with Rosanna, Jenna and Marzia, or ‘Matthew the Flirty Merman’ with tourists, and he was good at it. The guilt came quickly afterwards, feeling bad about not being truly honest with these people that were keeping him alive, but the problem was that it worked.

On one hand, he had found a way to get him enough food to survive, while not really having to do anything too drastic, but on the other hand, he had made real connections with these people, and he wanted to be honest with them about who he really was. If Matthew’s being genuinely upset about Rosanna’s boyfriend breaking up with her was anything, it was a wake-up call. A sign to maybe tell them that he wasn’t really ‘Matthew the Gay Merman’ but just ‘Matthew the Merman’, but would they still like him after that? Maybe it was time to learn how to hunt, and live on his own for once, and this could be his chance.

During his still thinking, a fish no bigger than his hand had swum near him under the dock, just asking to be caught. Matthew, deciding to get off his lazy fish butt, rolled over onto his stomach as slowly as he could, and after staring the smaller fish down for a few seconds, he pounced, pushing himself up from the sea bed with his tail to lunge himself hands first at the little fish. He shut his eyes and clasped his hands around where he thought the fish was. When Mat opened his eyes, there was no fish to be seen in his hands, and his reckless slapping of the sea bed caused a cloud of tan coloured sand to fill the water. Matthew, now panicking looked around the area for the fish, and he stood in the same place for some time and when the cloud of sand cleared, the little fish was no where to be seen.

Way to effing go Mat, you can’t even catch a little shrimp of a fish.

With frustration written all over his face, Mat surfaced to see a familiar figure looking down at him from the dock.

“There you are, I’ve been waiting here for at least fifteen minutes.” 

“Sorry Jason, I was… thinking.” Matthew grumbled, holding his arms above his head like a child asking to be picked up by their mother. Jason reached down and did just that, pulling the skinnier merman out of the water so he could sit on the dock with him. Jason scuffed.

“Well don’t keep me waiting next time. Here, I brought you some sushi.” Jason revealed a clear plastic container filled with a roll of yummy looking sushi from beside him. Matthew’s frustration faded for a moment as he laid eyes on the roll.

“Aw sweet!” Mat exclaimed, greedily grabbing the container from Jason, taking the rubber band keeping the container shut off and finally popping a piece of the of the salmon topped roll into his mouth, his pointy fish teeth easily tearing through the rice and raw fish. Was this considered cannibalism, kinda? I’m not answering that question. The only thing that could have made the meal better though was an ice-cold can of diet coke, but there was none to be seen. Sad.

“What were you thinking about anyways?” Jason asked, pulling off his sandals, and placing his feet into the warm ocean water next to Mat’s submerged caudal fin. Mat swallowed the piece of sushi he had in his mouth before speaking.

“About my acting,” Matthew admitted, noticing for a moment how his scales shimmered a golden orange under the almost set sun, “I think I should stop it.” 

This statement came to no surprise to Jason, they had been through this conversation at least a hundred times now. Jason sighed, sick of the conversation already. Jason had always known that Mat’s acting had been less than favourable, especially to Mat’s own mental well-being, but it had been because of Mat’s acting that he and Jason had met.

Jason worked nearby the beach and frequented the area on his way home most days. Jason began to take notice of the merman hanging around shortly after he had arrived but made no move to interact with him. As he observed more of the merman’s behaviour, he started to see that the merman could be playing one person one day, and a completely different person the next, all depending on who he was around. It didn’t take Jason long to put two and two together. Mat was like a New York pigeon, puffing out it’s feathers and doing stupidly adorable things all in hopes that the humans would give him the food he needed to survive, instead of finding it on his own. 

Jason confronted Mat about his acting one day, meeting him in the same spot they sat now, but instead of calling him some disgusting vermin, Jason instead helped the petrified merman up onto the dock, and offered him the leftovers from his lunch he had packed for work that day. Their friendship started that day, and ever since then Jason helped Mat out where he could. Jason brought him food on most weekdays, and even brought him some shirts so he could cover up a little more. Mat’s shirts had to be cut down the edges so his gills on his sides could still breathe while he swam, so Mat’s shirts were changed to mostly tank tops. He was Matthew’s first genuine friend, and he valued their friendship highly.

“Mat we’ve had this conversation at least ten times already.” Jason sighed, slouching.

“I know,” Mat rebutted, “It’s just that I saw Jenna, Rosanna and Marzia today, and Rosanna’s boyfriend dumped her, so they came to see me to cheer her up a bit. I felt really bad for her, but I just felt like I couldn’t be real with her like I should have.” Jason frowned.

“Didn’t something similar happen with those guys Jack and Mark a while ago?” Mat’s brows knitted together.

“No, that was different.” The merman said, taking another piece of sushi into his mouth.

“No, I’m talking about how you felt like you couldn’t be real with them.” Matthew swallowed, frowning.

“Oh,” The merman stated, suddenly looking down to his tail and Jason’s feet in the water, “You’re right.” Jason turned to Matthew. It really did upset him that his fish friend seemed to have no motive to change. Jason would be with him every step… or, flap, of the way with him if he wanted to stop acting, but Matthew just never seemed to want to do it.

“Mat, we’ve been through this a million times, if you feel so guilty about it, then just stop. I’ll help you with it if you’re so worried about it.” Matthew continued to stare at his tail, lifting it out of the water for a moment and watching as beads of salt water slipped from his fins back into the water.

“What if they feel like betrayed them? Or if they feel like I lied to them? Or if they stop giving me food? I don’t want to make you buy me more food, you’re doing enough for me as it is.” Jason continued to frown, same old same old.

“Matthew, people appreciate honesty more then you would expect. I’m sure at least some of them would forgive you.” Jason put a hand on Mat’s damp shoulder, Matthew scuffed.

“Like that’s reassuring.” 

“You can always be a show mermaid- “

“Merman.”

“Sorry, ‘show merman’ instead. I’m sure there are lots of places that’d be willing to take you and give you good place to live.” Matthew frowned.

“Yeah Jason, but I don’t want to be stuck in some tank for the rest of my life!” Matthew threw his one free hand up in agitation, Jason’s jumped back and moved his hand back to his side in surprise, “I’d rather live out here and starve than live as a well feed display piece for the rest of my life.” Jason bit his lip, a little shocked from his friend’s sudden outburst.

“I’m just giving you some options.” He replied.

“Well just know that I’ll never take that option, Jason.” Matthew scowled. Jason looked down, a little hurt by his words. He knew he probably didn’t mean to get so angry, or mean to hurt his feelings, but it still stung none the less. Matthew took the last piece of his sushi into his mouth, and handed the plastic container to Jason to recycle, which he took. Jason took his feet out from the water, and moved to put his sandals back on.

“I just hope that something will change your mind someday.” Jason said. Matthew said nothing, but instead let his body slid back into the water, thinking for a short moment about what Jason had just said. As Jason put on his other sandal, and got up to leave, Matthew felt a familiar pang of guilt in his gut.

“Sorry… Jason. I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that.” Jason stopped in his tracks, and suddenly remembered why he enjoyed being Matthew’s friend.

“Thanks Mat.” He looked back smiling. Matthew looked up at his one true friend now from the water.

“You’re welcome,” Jason laughed, “Will I see you tomorrow?”

“See you tomorrow Mat,” Jason smiled, “Oh, and I’m getting you a new shirt soon, the one you’re wearing right now makes you look like a giant green highlighter." Matthew laughed.

“Hey, I’ll look like a green highlighter if I want to!” 

“Not if I’m the one who’s buying your clothes.” Matthew laughed again.

“See you later Jason.”

“See you Mat.” And with that, Matthew sank back down beneath the dock to get some rest with a now full stomach.

Jason was a great friend.

…

The hot sun had long set over the beach, and Matthew now lay on the sea bed underneath the dock, trying to sleep.

A few days had passed since Matthew’s run in with Rosanna and her friends, and like usual, nothing had changed. Mat felt as bad as ever about his acting, but he did lay on the sea bed with a full stomach because of it. In his eyes, today was a good day, especially considering Jason didn’t visit today, as it was the weekend. 

Mat lay on his back, hands behind his head, trying not to let his guilt consume him as he rested. He almost fell asleep, if it wasn’t for the sudden light thudding of someone walking on the dock above him, just loud enough to wake him up. He opened his eyes, seeing a faint form above him from in between the wooden slats of the dock. 

Matthew huffed, watching as the air he expelled from his mouth rushed up to the surface in the form of dim bubbles. It was probably just another couple come out to skinny dip again, it happened far too often, and quiet frankly, Matthew would rather avoid seeing human naked bits if he could. Looks like he was sleeping on top of the big pipe tonight, if anything, it was a little more comfortable then the sea bed, even if it did leave him feeling really dry in the morning, ready for a swim. 

Mat rolled onto his stomach, ready to lazily swim to the other end of the of the beach to reach the pipe, but just as he was exiting from under the dock, he saw a pair of dainty feet put themselves into the water. The merman thought for a moment of grabbing those feet by the ankles, and pulling whoever it was into the water to get them to leave, but as he thought, he noticed the sudden absence of noise. There was no sound coming from above anymore, and no muffled chatting to go with it. Where they… alone? Matthew became curious. 

The merman now swam to the edge of the dock, no longer worried about his rest being disturbed. As he came closer to the surface, he tried to make out who sat on the deck. Maybe it was someone he knew? No, last time he checked he didn’t know anyone who had hair like that. He got closer. He didn’t know anyone with a creamy pink sweater like that. He got closer. He didn’t know anyone who wore lipstick that pink. He got closer. He didn’t know anyone with a face like that. He got closer. He didn’t know anyone with eyes that wide, staring back into his one chocolate curiosity. 

He got closer. 

He didn’t know anyone so beautiful. 

He looked back to those bright pink lips, he had never felt a desire to kiss someone so bad before. 

They blinked. 

He stared. 

They stared back, unsure. His eyes shut, sick of staring. He closed the space between them. He felt their lips against his, their lipstick rubbing off onto his own lips. His head was clear. His heart floated. 

He wanted more. 

He got closer. 

He wanted more.

They moved back, separating them. 

He opened his eyes.

They stared back, eyes broad, sweater damp, flustered, and curious. Beautiful.

Silence.

Curiosity.

Greed.

Guilt.

Matthew sank back into the water. Brown eyes radiating hazel.

They stayed.

They sat, both wondering if what just happened was real.

…

Mat sat on top of the dock with his caudal fin submerged into the ocean below him. The hot sun was setting before him, and he watched the sky set in shades of orange, and pink. Whilst in his impatience for his friend Jason to show up, he had gotten up on the dock himself. He could get onto the dock himself, but it was easier to have someone help him up. Matthew was lost in thought, his hands fiddling with his fins idly. He had been finding himself getting lost in thought more often over the past couple of days. 

Jason arrived with hefty thumps on the dock, and Matthew looked back to see his dirty blond friend with a large grin on his face. Someone was in a good mood today.

“Hey Mat!” Jason spoke, Mat couldn’t help but smile alongside his good mood. 

“Hey Jason,” Mat pulled his tail out of the water and onto the dock, turning around to see his friend better, “You seem to be in a good mood today.”

“I know,” Jason replied, taking a seat on one of the docks built in benches, “I got a raise today.” Matthew grinned out of excitement for his friend.

“That’s awesome Jason!” Mat held out a hand for a high five, which Jason gladly took. 

“I know right!” Jason exclaimed, unzipping his bag which he had placed next to him on the bench, pulling some stuff out, “I got you some stir fry, the rice should keep you full for a while. Plus, I also got you a diet coke!” Matthew smiled wider, taking the paper takeout box and the cold, sweating can out of Jason’s hands.

“Oh my god Jason you are the best!” Mat opened the brown paper takeout box, content to eat the food with his hands until Jason held out a plastic fork, before opening his own takeout box to start munching away.

“I know,” Jason bragged a bit, he deserved a least a bit of bragging rights today. He took a bit of his food before speaking again, “So, how was your weekend Mat?” 

Mat thought back to his weekend for a moment. On Sunday Rosanna had come to visit him, and he a rather delightful time chatting, swimming, and just generally having a good time with her. Nothing too eventful there. He then thought back to Saturday, which was again, rather uneventful, maybe save for some very generous tourists that kept him fed throughout the day, but what about Saturday night? He had kissed someone, hadn’t he? Or was that just a dream? He wasn’t sure.

“Ro came to see me yesterday. She seems to be doing better.” Matthew said, taking a sip of his diet coke.

“That’s good.” Jason agreed. A comfortable silence then took over after Jason’s statement, at least for Jason. The silence suddenly made Matthew think back to that person he had kissed, maybe. Matthew stopped eating for a moment, looking down to his tail, thinking, and Jason noticed, peering an eyebrow up. Crap.

“I… I kissed a girl the other night.” Jason’s curious look dropped back to neutral. 

“So? You kiss people all the time as ‘Flirty Matthew’.” Jason stated. Mat’s brows scrunched.

“No, this one was different Jason!” Jason raised an eyebrow again.

“How so?” He asked between bites.

“I’m… not sure if it happened or not,” Jason frown at him, befuddled, “Like, I wasn’t sure if it was a dream or not.” 

“Then… why are you telling me about this?” Jason asked, rather unsure as to why Mat was sharing this with him. Mat frowned.

“Because I’m not sure Jason!” Matthew suddenly half shouted, “It’s been on my mind ever since, and I just feel really bad for kissing her, but I just couldn’t stop myself.” 

“This girl must have been really nice looking then.” Jason smirked. Matthew thought back to the image of the person in his head, he smiled, feeling a small bit of joy.

“Yeah, she was beautiful.” Jason laughed.

“Sounds like someone is a little smitten,” Matthew blushed. He should have never told Jason about this. He grumpily took a bite of his stir fry, “What makes you think it was a dream?” Jason suddenly asked. Matthew’s frown faded for a moment, replaced with somber thought.

“The fact that I didn’t stop… the fact that I don’t remember much of the night after that, but I mean I could have always just fallen asleep too… I don’t know! She was just so pretty, it just seemed… far too good to be real.” Matthew’s gaze turned back to tail, flopping it lazily. Silence stood again for a moment as Jason finished chewing.

“Maybe she is real,” Jason’s good mood was showing, “Maybe you weren’t dreaming.” Matthew smiled faintly at the thought.

“I hope she is. I could at least apologize to her for flippin’ kissing her.” 

“I’m starting to think you have guilt issues.” Matthew frowned.

“Thanks for bringing that up.” Mat took a sip of diet coke, looking away.

“Sorry,” Jason said, “But… hey! This could be a good chance for you.” Matthew looked back to Jason, interested.

“How?” Jason nodded.

“Well, you keep saying that you want to quit acting, so, if this girl is real, then maybe you should be real with her.” Matthew stuck his fork into the rice of his stir fry, taking another sip of diet coke.

“I can’t promise you anything.” Matthew stated, deadpan.

“Then let’s make a deal?” Matthew chuckled.

“Oh no, I’m not making anymore deals with you.” Mat put a hand up in defence. Jason sighed.

“Can you tell me that you’ll at least try to be honest with this girl Matthew? Regardless if she’s real or not.” Mat’s hand came back down to his stir fry, messing around with the rice in the container instead of putting it in his mouth.

“Okay.” Matthew mouthed, placing some more rice in his mouth before he could say anything else.

“Alright!” Jason, now done with his food, put the empty container beside him for a moment, and pulled something out of his bag, “I also got you a new shirt! Like I said,” The shirt in question was a black tank top with the words ‘GAME OVER’ printed on it in a bright green, pixelated font. Mat liked the shirt actually. “I saw it and thought of you.”

“Thanks Jason!” Matthew grinned, taking a moment to face away from Jason to take off his current shirt. Jason came up behind Mat and slipped the shirt over his head, a bit to his surprise. Jason had even already cut down the edges for his gills. Man, Jason was just great. Matthew turned back around, looking down at his new shirt. He really liked it. 

Matthew peered to his old highlighter green shirt he had been wearing before in his hands, it smelled of salt, and fish. He still quiet liked this shirt too. He had a sudden idea.

“Jason, could you hold on to my old shirt for me?” Jason gave a little giggle.

“Dude, that shirt makes you look like a green highlighter.” Mat frowned.

“I don’t care if it makes me look like a highlighter dang it! Can you please just hold on to it for me?” Jason laughed.

“Okay, okay,” Jason took the shirt from Mat’s hands, putting it next to him on the bench, “It’s goanna take me at least five washes to get the smell out this thing though.”

…

A draft of cool, salty air came in from the ocean as a girl stepped out onto the dock. The ocean wind rustled her cocoa hair in the gentlest way, and the cool air was a blessing against her warm cheeks. She had been at this dock a few nights ago, at least she thought she had been. She could have sworn a merman, one with deep green and black scales had kissed her here, but the memory was fuzzy, and it could have been a dream.

She wanted it to be real.

Although the memory was scary in the moment, and she backed away, fearing that the merman might pull her into the water with him, doing something… less than pleasurable with her, but he never did that. When she backed away, he made no dive for her, he had just stared… his eyes almost glowing in the night. 

She was curious. 

Alas, he had slid back into the water before she could have gotten a good look at him, and she ran back home as quickly as she had arrived. The rest of the night was blurry in her memory. She hardly remembered getting home, and she had awoken in her bed still in her clothes from the day before. It could have been a dream, but then why was half her lipstick was missing, and smudged. Though, she did find a significant amount of her lipstick on her pillow after she had gotten up.

The inconsistencies in her own story concerned her, and alas, she found herself back at the dock where she had ‘met’ this merman. She needed to know if he was real or not, and her mind would not let her rest until she knew. It was driving her crazy.

She reached the edge of the dock like she did in her memory, but instead of taking her flip-flops off, and plunging her feet into the water like she had done before, she knelt, and looked into the ocean water. The darkness kept her from seeing much below her, but she could have sworn she had seen a black blob move beneath the surface. She squinted, trying her hardest to make out what it was. Maybe it was the merman? Or maybe it was just a fish? If it was the merman, maybe she could get its attention somehow?

Well, she didn’t want to sink her feet into the water again, as that was just asking for trouble, but maybe she could put something into the water that wasn’t her feet? She sat back up, brushing her hair out of her face as she looked around the dock for something to throw into the water. Something bright caught her eye instantly as she turned to the left. It was a bright green piece of clothing, and when she said bright, it felt like it was burning brighter then the frickin’ sun, and the sun is pretty damn hot… and bright. 

She stepped over and picked up the clothing, watching it unfold. It was a tank top, with it’s sides cut down, making the shirt look more like shell that one could pull over themselves than a shirt. It smelt like salt, and fish. The girl’s thoughts suddenly shifted back to that of the merman, hadn’t he been wearing this shirt when they kissed? She turned around.

They were real.

Matthew gasped slightly as he saw the girl standing on the dock, his old highlighter shirt held in her hands. Why did she have his old shirt? Wasn’t Jason supposed to take it home earlier today? He focused back in on the girl. Part of him wanted to sink back into the ocean, and act like ‘Mysterious Matthew’ around her, but another part of him remembered what Jason had said to him earlier that day, be honest. He wasn’t sure what to do. The girl stayed frozen in place, she did not seem to know what to do either.

Matthew didn’t want to miss this opportunity to talk to this girl, especially now that he knew that this girl was real, and this girl sure as heck didn’t seem to want to talk, but should Matthew act, or should he be himself? Maybe he would just open his mouth, and see what comes out?

“Why… do you have my shirt?” Well it looks like we’re going with super awkward and doesn’t know how to talk Matthew. (AKA Regular Mat) He could work with this. 

The girl blinked, face suddenly flushed.

“O-Oh… is this yours?” She asked. Matthew put his hands on the edge of the dock, pulling his torso up to the dock, but not his tail, which flapped aimlessly in the water.

“Yes… it is.” He wheezed out as he tried to pull himself onto the dock. Seeing this, the girl instantly leaned down, and grabbed his wrists and pulled with all her dainty might to get the merman fully up on the dock. She tried to ignore how her skin tingled when she grabbed his wrists, and just how hot her face was, but regardless, she did successfully help the merman onto the dock. Once Mat was settled, and the girl sat on damp wood of the dock across from him. She shyly spoke again.

“Here,” She held out the shirt to the merman, but his eyes were somewhere else, “It’s… yours isn’t it?” Matthew suddenly noticed the shirt being handed to him.

“Oh! Yes… thank you.” He said, taking the shirt. Why did it take so long for him to respond? He was usually on the ball with his improv skills. The girl avoided eye contact, and instead pulled her phone out of her back pocket, turning on its light so she could see better. She tried her best not to shine the light in the merman’s eyes, but she did catch his eye by accident, causing the merman to wince. What she did see when she shined the light on his eye by accident though, was that his eyes reflected light. 

She was curious.

She then took her phone’s flashlight and shined it in the merman’s eyes without mercy. Matthew winced.

“Hey! What’re you doing?!” He shut his eyes from the light.

“Your eyes reflect light.” 

“Yeah! But that’s no reason to shine a freaking light in my eyes!” He peeled one of his eyes open, blocking some of the light with his hands. He was bewildered. The girl suddenly gasped, finally pulling the light away from the merman’s eyes.

“Wait… can you blink for me?” Matthew’s brows knitted together, very confused. He did blink though, and the girl watched as the merman’s eyes move, looking like he had 2 sets of eyelids, his normal skin ones, and a clear, thick lid that came up afterwards, “Oh, that must be the lens that protects your eyes when your underwater. I didn’t know it reflected light though, that’s really cool!”

“Who… are you?” Matthew asked out of nowhere, so confused. The girl suddenly smiled a very pretty smile. Matthew felt his heart thud. 

“My name’s Stephanie, I’m a scientist.”

“I’m Matthew.” Mat was so bewildered he couldn’t help but be himself. This was the girl he didn’t think was real for a few days? He wasn’t sure what to think. He held out a hand out of habit. Stephanie grabbed it, and they shook hands, the tingling of their touch running through their skin once again. They didn’t want to let go.

“It’s nice to met you Matthew!” Her sudden change in mood made Matthew question his own sanity. 

“It’s nice to met you too, Stephanie.” Mat suddenly realized that he had never let go of Stephanie’s hand from their hand shake, and he suddenly retracted his hand, his thoughts drifting back to Saturday night when they had kissed, for real, it had seemed. 

They stared.

Matthew wanted to kiss her again, no, not her, he wanted to kiss Stephanie again. 

Guilt.

No, he couldn’t kiss her again, he already felt bad enough for the first time. He needed to leave, he didn’t want to do something he would regret like he always seemed to do. Jason was right, he needed to get his fish shit together.

He backed away as best as he could, trying his hardest to not letting his desire get the better of him. Stephanie looked confused as Matthew began to crawl his way back to the edge of the dock.

“Matthew, where are you going?” Her voice saying his name made him feel like he was in heaven. Stephanie picked up her phone and shinned its light on the merman. His black and green scales shone like a disco ball under the phone’s LED light.

“I-I’m sorry, it’s kinda late, I need to get some rest,” He got to the edge, making a great big splash as he landed back into the water, he surfaced to see Stephanie standing above him, still on the dock, “A-And so should you.” He continued.

“It’s only ten o’clock.” She stated, confused. Matthew shook his head.

“Whatever, I-I need to go… okay?” Stephanie knew something was up but decided not to pry. She found herself kneeling down to the edge of the dock to get closer to the merman. She wanted to swim with him.

“Okay,” She said sadly, not wanting him to leave. Matthew, reluctantly, began to sink back down into the water before Stephanie suddenly shouted out, “Matthew!” Matthew surfaced. He got closer.

“Can I come see you again?!” Mat smiled. His heart almost burst from the way she said it.

“Yes.” He responded softly. She could come visit any time. 

“Oh, wait, what about your shirt? Do you want it back?” Matthew had completely forgotten about his older shirt.

“You keep it, I don’t need it anymore.” That shirt was a little too bright now that he thought about it.

“O-Okay.” Stephanie muttered. 

They stared. Stephanie looking down at the merman below in the water.

Matthew pushed himself forward and closed the space between themselves for a short moment. Lips connected for a far too short of time. 

It left more to be desired.

Guilt.

Curiosity.

“Goodnight Stephanie.”

“Goodnight Matthew.”

…

Stephanie found herself walking down the beach, working her way towards a particular dock of said beach. I’m sure you could all guess who she was out to see. She had planned just to go home straight after her work had ended, but instead of taking the three-minute walk to her apartment above her lab, she instead found herself packing her things and walking down to the beach. 

Steph was rather glad, for a reason she couldn’t pin point, that the merman in her memory turned out to be real. She was even happier to have a name to the face, Matthew. Maybe she wanted to go see him again out of her scientific curiosity, the kind of curiosity that made her heart pound, and skin tingle? Or was it love of knowledge, wanting to know more about the merman’s body and inner workings, somewhat like that of humans, yet drastically different? Yeah, it was probably that. 

Either way, the sun had begun to set shortly before she left, and she was getting close to her destination, wondering what Matthew could be doing right now. She saw the beach in question from the distance, and it looked like people were beginning to filter out. Along the beach she could also make out the dock she was working her way too, seeing a fishy form sitting on the dock. Good, he was there. She picked up her pace a bit, feeling her sandals fill with sand more as she recklessly rushed to the dock. 

As she got closer to the dock, Matthew’s form became clearer and clearer, and she was soon 100% sure that it was him, and not some other merfolk. The closer she got, the more she could also make out another figure, a person maybe? This only made her walk a bit faster, and she soon reached the dock, beginning to overhear the conversation the merman was having with a dirty blond-haired man.

“I’m actually really proud of you Matthew.” The other man said, seeming to be eating something as well. What was he proud of Mat for? Maybe she shouldn’t interrupt their conversation. She stood still.

“I doubt that.” Matthew said, a little grumpy.

“No, I really am, even if you didn’t mean to it still- “The other man’s speech was cut short when he noticed Matthew had peered down the dock, noticing Stephanie. She instantly stiffened. Steph saw the other man lean in to say something to Matthew that she was obviously not meant to hear and saw the merman nod and mouth something afterwards.

“H-Hey Stephanie!” Matthew said loudly, beckoning her to the end of the dock. Stephanie reluctantly began to step forward, eventually reaching the two men, awkwardly standing arms length between the merman and the other man, “Stephanie, this… is my friend Jason.” She looked over to the other man, forcing a small smile. Jason held out his hand.

“It’s nice to met you.” Jason said politely, smirking. He knew something. Stephanie took his hand for a shake.

“It’s nice to met you too.” Stephanie spoke, taking it upon herself to sit down on the dock a good arms length away from both men, instead of awkwardly standing. Awkward silence persisted either way, and Stephanie noticed that Matthew was eating some yummy looking sushi. Now she was hungry. 

“So, what do you do for a living Stephanie?” Steph jumped a bit from Jason saying her name.

“Oh, I’m a scientist.” She stated. 

“What kind of scientist?”

“I’m a marine biologist,” She hated that question, probably because she had answered it a million times, 

“How about you?”

“I’m a video editor, but I’m also a part time caretaker for Matthew.” Jason snickered. 

“Hey! I can take care of myself.” Matthew shouted, his tail slapped hard on the dock in anger. Stephanie laughed a little but was curious none the less. Jason leaned to Stephanie, explaining quietly to her as to not make Matthew more upset and defensive.

“I give Matthew food and stuff most of the time, you know, just making sure he’s not starving.” Matthew looked away in distress, deciding not to notice. Stephanie’s expression turned neutral, was the merman really having a hard time getting by? She thought it was noble for Jason to be helping the merman out, but Matthew shouldn’t have a problem finding food. Matthew’s rage subsided quicker than Stephanie thought, and she soon saw Jason begin to pack his things, “I’m goanna be going now though,” He winked at them, “Can I have the container Mat?” Mat looked down to see he still had two pieces of his roll left. In response, he grabbed the two pieces from the container, and passed the container to Jason.

“Do you want one Steph?” Mat asked as he held out a piece of the roll to Stephanie, she felt her cheeks heat up a bit, “Can I call you Steph?” 

“Yeah, I don’t mind,” She responded, taking the roll from Mat afterwards, “Thank you.” 

“You’re welcome.” Mat said on reflex, placing the other piece into his mouth to munch on. As he opened his mouth, Steph noticed his slightly pointed fishy teeth. She was curious.

“Bye you two.” Jason said as it snapped Stephanie out of her staring. Jason had already begun walking down the dock when he said this.

“Bye Jason.” Matthew said, waving.

“Goodbye Jason.” Stephanie said out of politeness, watching as the man in question held up a hand to say bye back. 

Only the sound of gentle crashing waves could be heard over the next few moments as Steph finally took a bite of the roll Mat had nicely given to her. It tasted a little bit better knowing that it had come from the merman. Speaking of the said merman, she was surprised by a sudden loud splash, only to find that the merman had jumped back into the water. Was he bailing on her now too? After a few moments though, the merman did surface at the edge of the dock, shaking off his short, wet, brown hair.

“Sorry,” She heard the merman, “I was feeling a bit like a fish out of water.” Matthew snickered to himself. Stephanie’s soul hurt. She shook the cringe from herself as she stepped closer to the edge of the dock.

“Mind if I come in?” She asked, slipping off her sandals.

“The world is your oyster.” Matthew smiled, Stephanie rolled her eyes. The merman dived away into the orange tinted water from the setting sun. He seemed much more at home in the water then any place else. She quickly slipped off her short overalls, and shirt, revealing her conservative black and pink bikini underneath. She then placed her clothes and sandals into a drawstring bag she had brought with her, leaving it under the bench of the dock before putting het feet into the water to test it. Before she could even tell if the water was warm or cold, she felt something grab her ankles, and a scream escaped her lips as she was pulled into the water, her nose stinging as salt water went up it.

She surfaced quicker then she anticipated, gasping and coughing from the sudden liquid impact. She opened her eyes to see Matthew looking back at her, his arms around her waist, keeping her floating with his much more water suited tail.

“Matthew!” She scowled, pushing away from the merman, now wanting to wade in the water on her own.

“What?!” Matthew responded, obviously a little too proud of himself.

“That wasn’t funny! It was scary actually,” Matthew suddenly sunk back a bit, guilt taking over him like usual, “I could have hit my head on the dock or something.” Matthew looked down in shame.

“Sorry,” He spoke. Stephanie huffed, and stared. Matthew sunk back down into the water, suddenly not wanting to be seen. Stephanie was afraid that he might try and pull her underwater again, but instead he surfaced, floating on his back nearby the girl, “Hey… let’s go for a swim.” Stephanie sighed again but swam herself closer to the merman. Matthew beckoned Stephanie closer, “Here, come grab on.” Don’t take that one out of context.

“What?” Stephanie asked, just as confused as me for writing that last line. I’m sorry.

“Like, come lay on my chest, I’ll do all the swimming.” Oh.

“O-Okay.” Steph blushed, swimming up on top of the merman’s stomach, beginning to wrap her arms around his torso until he spoke.

“D-Don’t touch that!” Stephanie suddenly moved her hands away, realizing what she had accidentally touched.

“Sorry! Did I touch you gills?” 

“Yeah, they’re just really sensitive.” 

“Sorry.” Stephanie replied again. She felt her arms suddenly being taken from her and pulled around the merman’s neck, which he seemed to be more comfortable with. She didn’t complain, and with her short little legs off to the side of the merman’s body, he began to swim idly, eyes closed to block out the hot sun’s rays on his eyes.

Stephanie soon found herself beginning to relax into the merman’s chest, watching Matthew’s gills flutter in the water. She wondered for a moment what it would be like to have gills. The sun was warm on her back, helping with her comfort levels, and she felt like she could fall asleep on the merman’s chest, listening to his quickening heartbeat. Her thoughts soon began to drift though, like they did most nights before she slept.

“No chance, no way, I won’t say it, no, no,” Stephanie was taken out of her thoughts for a moment from the merman’s sudden singing. Was he singing a Disney song? “You swoon, you sigh, why deny it, oh, oh.” Yup, that was a Disney song alright. She suddenly liked him a whole lot more, plus, he had a very nice singing voice, “It’s too cliché, I won’t say I’m in love.” Stephanie let herself grin like a madman listening to the merman sing, neither of them realizing the significance of the song to themselves.

Stephanie let her thoughts drift again, the air around them filled with Matthew’s singing. It was pleasant. She was suddenly very glad that she had come to visit the merman again, even if it did mean having to third wheel a bit with Jason. Jason seemed to be a teasing type, but a nice guy none the less. It made Steph happy that he was taking care of Matthew, yet, did Matthew really need the help that much?

“Girl you can’t deny it, who you are or how you’re feeling- “

“Matthew.” Stephanie spoke, Mat stopped singing.

“Yeah Steph?” He asked. Stephanie hadn’t noticed until now that Matthew’s hand was on top of her head, stroking her hair gently. She didn’t mind.

“Do you… really have a hard time staying feed?” She knew she was prying, but she was genuinely concerned for this merman’s wellbeing. Matthew huffed.

“I guess, sometimes…” He responded. Stephanie didn’t buy it.

“Matthew, is that really true?” Matthew bit his lip, “Be honest with me.” Matthew paused. He had heard that before. He should probably respond.

“Yes, I do… a lot.” Stephanie’s concern suddenly became much larger.

“Don’t you know how to fend for yourself?”

“No...” 

“Then how do you feed yourself?” Matthew paused for a moment, was he willing to share this with her? 

“I get food from people.”

“Wait, do you even know how to hunt?” She asked, suddenly a little angry. Matthew paused again.

“I didn’t ever really learn.” 

“Then how have you survived this long?!”

“Honestly, I don’t even know,” Stephanie said into the merman’s chest. She didn’t ever think the merman’s situation could be this bad, “It’s been better since I’ve known Jason, but sometimes the food he gives me is the only meal I get in a day.” That statement stung her, she wanted to take this merman to her lab right now and make sure he was well fed for the rest of his life, no matter how much it would cost her.

“I’ll help you!” She suddenly spoke loudly, sitting up on the merman’s chest, forgetting they were floating out in the middle of the ocean, and accidentally pushing the merman’s upper half completely underwater, his eye wide in surprise beneath the water. Stephanie, realizing this, let her hands go from Matthew’s chest, and he floated back up to the surface, and instead of letting Steph lay on his chest, held her up in the water by her waist, now treading water again.

“What was that?” He asked, laughing a little.

“I’ll help you Matthew, I’ll bring you food and make sure your healthy!” Matthew frowned.

“Steph, you don’t need to do this, I get enough help from Jason already.” Stephanie growled.

“Well if anything I’m more qualified than Jason to look after you since I actually know what you need to survive!” Matthew looked down, she was right, “Please Matthew? I could even take you to my lab and look after you there.” Matthew looked away from Stephanie.

“Sorry Steph, but I’d rather starve then live in a tank.”

“You’re basically starving right now!” Matthew looked back to the human he currently had his arms around. The utter amount of despair on her face was enough to fuel his guilt-ridden attitude for a week, “Please Matthew, just let me make sure you’re okay?” Mathew huffed.

“Okay.” He hated agreeing, but he did need all the help he could get.

Stephanie smiled softly, and she got closer, letting their lips touch, longer than usual this time.

“Thank you.” Stephanie whispered.

“You’re welcome.” Matthew whispered back, letting their lips touch once again, much longer than usual.

…

Stephanie awoke without a noise, her eyes lifting open only as much as she needed them to. Her alarm hadn’t gone off, so she had two options, she had either woken up before her alarm, or she had slept through her alarm. She hoped it was the first option. Rolling over from her back onto her left side, she looked at her alarm. 6:21am it read, or wait… did it say 8:46am? It seemed to be changing at random. She ignored it, deciding that she had woken up before her alarm, she rolled over onto her other side, only to be greeted with… Matthew? The other opened his own brown eyes, looking sleepy, yet beautiful.

“’Morning Steph,” He leaned in and gave Stephanie and gentle kiss on the forehead. Matthew held Steph’s hand under the sheets, his touch was soft, and warm, unlike his normally slightly damp and scale-like touch. She was curious, “Is it time to get up?” He asked. Stephanie wanted to open her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She was bewildered. 

Regardless of Stephanie’s silence, Matthew sat up and pushed the sheets off himself, revealing not a beautifully reflective green and black fish tail, but a pair of human legs, covered in a black pair of pajama pants, and oddly enough, with only one sock covering one of his feet. Alright, something was up. Matthew stood up and began to walk to Stephanie’s bedroom door, a sight she never thought she would behold. She found herself following him, being tugged along by his hand.

“Come on, let’s go get some breakfast.” Matthew spoke as he got to her bedroom door, opening it. Stephanie followed only for another moment, only to trip once she stepped through her bedroom door. She looked in front of her, Matthew wasn’t there anymore, in fact, nothing was below her, and she was falling. Her lungs were unable to scream from seeing the vast nothing below her, and just as she was about to hit something….

She was in her bedroom again staring at her ceiling, no longer falling, with a cold sweat running down her temples. The first thing she did was roll over to her right, checking for Matthew who wasn’t there, yet she still felt his hand within hers. She lifted her hand to her face to find the bright green tank top that had previously been Matthew’s in her hand. It smelled like salt, and fish. It smelt like Matthew. It made her feel… scientific excitement. She was a marine biologist after all. Steph rubbed the sand out of her eyes, and rolled to her left, looking at her alarm clock. Fiddling with one of the buttons on the front, she turned on it’s backlight, and winched. 7:16am, fifteen minutes before her alarm, might as well get up. 

Steph sat up, and turned the alarm on her clock off, so it wouldn’t scare her in fifteen minutes. She shuffled over to her bedroom door, double checking that there wasn’t an endless pit outside of it before continuing to her bathroom. She winched again as she turned on the light of her bathroom, and she began her morning routine, starting with a quick brushing of her teeth.

Stephanie thought back to her dream as she brushed her teeth, looking down to the sink to ignore the rats nest that was currently her hair. Matthew had been in her dream, which had been a first on its own, yet, he had been human. She was curious. 

What was this dream trying to tell her? Did she want Matthew to be human? Well, part of her might have wished that, as it is just a little easier to be friends with someone who doesn’t need to be in water constantly, yet, it was impossible for Matthew to ever be human, no amount of genetic engineering could do that yet. The dream left more questions then it did answers, yet she still felt Matthew’s hand in her free hand, and she peered down at it, only to find it empty. His shirt that she had been carrying around religiously recently wasn’t even in her hand. She must have left it on her bed. An emotion she hadn’t felt in a long time suddenly washed over her like a great wave as she continued to look at her empty hand. She was lonely. She had a desire to be next him, to be able to wake up next to him like she had in her dream, to kiss him like she had the other day.

They had kissed a lot now that Stephanie thought about it. This first time they had even met the merman has kissed her. She wondered why he would have done that. Was it because he wanted to? Was it because he thought she was pretty? Was it because he was one of those stereotypically evil merfolk that just wanted to get on her good side, so he could eventually drown her and eat her? She really hoped it wasn’t that one. So, she didn’t have an answer as to why Matthew had continued to kiss her, but she had kissed him the other day, had she not? Why did she kiss Matthew?

Was it because she wanted to? Yes, she did rather enjoy when Matthew kissed her, and the thought of it now made her want to go visit the merman just to kiss him again, but she had work to do before then. Was it because she thought he was pretty? Yes, she thought he was very pretty. Was it because she loved him? Stephanie paused her hair brushing.

Was it because she loved him? 

Her heart skipped out of her chest, and she felt that sudden weight in her free hand again. 

Stephanie shook the thought, moving out to her kitchen to get some breakfast. She had work to do, and a cat to feed. 

“Come on, let’s go get some breakfast.” Matthew’s voice repeated in her mind.

…

“Girl, I gotta say, your eyebrows look so great today, did you get them done recently?” Rosanna smiled. She had come to visit Matthew again for a short while, and she seemed to be doing much better since her break up.

“Yeah, I did! Thanks for noticing.” Ro smiled. Matthew looked to the sky.

“Man, I wish I could get my eyebrows done like that, but it’s kinda hard when you’re an unemployed merman.” Rosanna giggle a little.

“Actually, I had my sister do them for me. I could get her to come to the beach sometime and do yours for you.” Matthew had to stop for a moment to consider the offer. Would he actually like to get his eyebrows done, especially if it spanned to all his roles? Well, he guessed he could always just get them trimmed per say, you know, look less like giant caterpillars taped to his face.

“Girl that would be grea-!” Matthew suddenly stopped his speech when he peered to the dock at the other side of the beach, noticing a very certain brown-haired girl on the dock, wearing a familiar black and pink bikini. Is heart trembled. 

“Uh, Matthew?” Rosanna asked, aware of Matthew’s sudden freeze. 

Matthew had a problem.

Matthew couldn’t act around Stephanie, he just couldn’t for the life of him, and yet here was Rosanna next to him, only knowing him as Matthew the Gay Merman. He couldn’t be in two places at once. He couldn’t be two people at once. He couldn’t push Rosanna away otherwise she would know something was up, and he couldn’t push Stephanie away otherwise she’d be hurt, and he felt his heart squeeze in pain from just thinking about hurting Steph.

“Hey Matthew!” Matthew heard a very distant, yet loud voice come from the dock. It was Steph all right, “I brought you some food!” He heard her continue.

“Who’s that?” Rosanna asked from beside him. Crap. Matthew prayed to the improv gods for things to go smoothly.

“That’s my girl… friend Stephanie!” Wait no Steph wasn’t his girlfriend, I mean sure they had kissed a few times but that didn’t make them a couple did it? Matthew was blushing, not good. Wait… Matthew was supposed to be super gay right now, so saying she was his girlfriend was like saying she was a good friend. Damn, his scaled ass was never in trouble in the first place, “Do you wanna go say hi to her?” Oh god that was not a good idea.

“Sure, I wouldn’t mind meeting her. See looks pretty cute,” Rosanna smiled. Oh my god, was Ro secretly a lesbian this entire time and was she now goanna take Stephanie away from him? Or maybe, she was just complementing her like girls do, he didn’t know damn it, “I’m goanna walk over there on the beach though, I don’t wanna get my clothes wet.” 

“I’ll race you there!” Matthew what the H-E-double-hockey-sticks are you doing?

“You’re on!” Rosanna smirked.

“May the best bitch win.” He stuck out his tongue, and dived into the water, waiting for the other girl to get back to the beach, so she didn’t have to run down the long pipe as well during the race, and Matthew held a hand up to signal the beginning of the race. They were off, and for a few moments Matthew’s head was completely clear as he only focused on swimming. It was moments like these that reminded him why he never wanted live in a tank. The utter freedom he had to move, to swim as fast as he wanted without being limited by the surface area of a stupid cage. It’s what kept him from ever being a show merman. 

He reached the dock soon enough, and he surfaced, flicking his hair up and splashing water up onto the dock, surprising one Stephanie. He saw Rosanna running as best as she could up the dock, only to plop down on her butt as soon as she reached the end of the dock.

“Looks like I won girl!” Matthew boasted. He sure did love winning.

“Oh, come on Mat! You’re way faster in the water then you think!” Rosanna complained, “I never could have won.”

“Maybe you should run more then.” Matthew stuck out a tongue again, jumping up as best as he could to get onto the dock, only to get stuck like always, with his torso on the dock, and his tail still in the water. He suddenly felt someone grab him by the arms, pulling with all their might to get the merman onto the dock.

“Do you need some help?” Rosanna asked, indicating that it was Stephanie pulling Matthew up.

“No, I’ve got it!” Stephanie wheezed, and with one last great heave, she managed to pull the merman up onto the dock, yet, she wasn’t wearing any shoes, and her heels slipped on the damp dock, and she began to fall backwards.

“Steph!” Matthew shouted, watching as the girl fell back. He tried to jump forward to grab her before she fell, but grabbed nothing, and he braced for the thud of her hitting the wood that was to come, but it never came. Mat sat up, bewildered, only to see Rosanna had come behind her just in time, and caught her. Matthew sighed in relief, thank god she wasn’t hurt.

“Are you okay girl?” Rosanna asked in concern, letting her go to stand back up on her own. Stephanie stood back on her own, obviously still a little shaken.

“Yeah, I’m okay.” She answered, whipping off nothing from her arms as a nervous tick. 

“You should have let me help you. Matthew isn’t the lightest shemale in the world after all.” 

“You got that right Hun.” Matthew replied. Stephanie was puzzled, did she just call Matthew a shemale? She looked back to Matthew who was fiddling with his fins in a girly fashion, he did not seem like himself right now. She sat down on the bench next to her drawstring bag and rather large plastic tray. 

Rosanna watched in confusion of the other girl’s actions, and Matthew’s panic seemed to be turned up to eleven in that moment. Stephanie said nothing, but stared at Matthew, her face so scrunched it was hard to tell what she was feeling from her expression.

“She’s acting really weird.” Ro had leaned down to Matthew, whispering the statement so that Steph couldn’t hear. Steph stared knives at her for getting close to the merman.

“I know.” Was all Matthew could manage out, his fin fiddling becoming more of a nervous habit now instead of an acting tactic.

The silence continued, and from the way that Stephanie stared at Rosanna it was obvious that she wanted her to leave. Matthew couldn’t think of anything else to do. The panic was plain on his face, and the longer he lingered on it, the angrier Steph would get. Matthew beckoned Rosanna to lean back down and he whispered to her.

“Ro, could you just… leave?” His gay demeaner was gone, and Rosanna could tell something was up, “I’ll explain later, but can you just- “

“Got it.” Rosanna whispered back, and a small bit of relief came to Matthew, and without even saying a word, not making a single excuse, Ro got up, and left the dock. Matthew was so happy she was his friend in that moment. 

Stephanie glared daggers at the girl until she was out of ear shot, and then turned back to Matthew, and despite her beautiful face, he felt no thud of his heart when she looked at him like that.

“Who, was that?” Stephanie asked in a growl that Mat didn’t know she was capable of. He was in trouble. 

“Rosanna, she’s a friend!” Matthew squeaked out.

“A friend?!” Stephanie was outraged. Matthew didn’t know why. He just felt like fish shit.

“We’ve been friends for a long time and she just got broken up with, so she came here to vis-!”

“Just got broken up with! Matthew, I can’t believe-!”

“Stephanie, I swear to god she’s just a friend I’ve never seen her as a-!”

“Matthew, are you… gay?” 

“If I was gay I never would have kissed you in the fucking first place!” There it was. They had never brought up their kissing before hand, yet it seemed to have finally come up, and Matthew’s sudden yell, with a swear mixed in had managed to keep Stephanie quiet for a moment. He didn’t understand why Stephanie was so upset… oh… wait… never mind. Stephanie was jealous… wasn’t she? 

“If you’re not gay then how do you explain what just happened?!” 

“I’m an actor Stephanie!” Stephanie held back, “I lie to people about who I am gain their trust, so they’ll feed me! I’m a disgusting piece of crap who feeds off other people and I feel like shit because of it every freaking day! But it’s what I have to do to survive and I just freaking hate it, okay!” He felt like that was it, like that was the last straw of their relationship. Steph’s eyes went wide.

“Wait… does that mean?” Stephanie’s eyes began to well, and Matthew could feel his heart being shattered like a sledge hammer to a watermelon. 

“Wait Stephanie, no! I would never lie to you! I’ve been honest to you from the start I-!”

“I don’t want to hear another word of it Matthew!” She stood up from the bench as quick as her words, and Matthew saw the salty tears beginning to crash down her cheeks, “Goodbye Matthew!” She picked up her bag and began her way down the dock.

“Stephanie! Stephanie please just listen to me!” But she did not listen, she did not look back. For once in his life, he wished he had legs, so he could chase after her. His pathetic arm crawl was getting him nowhere after all. His face crashed into the dock in defeat.

He got farther away.

…

Mat laid with his head pushed face first into a grimy bed of seaweed. He was inside the great big pipe that, sort of, drained out into the ocean. Well, the pipe had a giant concrete wall put into it for some reason, so it didn’t really go anywhere, and nothing came out of it anymore, but, I digress. The water in the pipe was murky and unfiltered, and laying under there made it hard for Matthew’s gills to breath, much like a human would feel laying with their head under a bunch of blankets for too long. Despite his irritated gills, he still lay in the ancient pipe, not wanting to move. The seaweed bed that had taken over the inside of the pipe was comfortable for the merman to lay on after all. 

Matthew’s body was comfortable, but his mind wasn’t. It seemed no matter what he thought of, his mind still drifted to the other night with Steph, and even when he tried to sleep, his mind was plagued with her in his dreams. So, he lay there, wanting to pull his scales out one at a time in frustration. 

Matthew’s physical comfort, and for a moment, his minds discomfort, where disturbed when a sudden vibration was sent through the entire pipe, the noise reverberating loudly through the water, hurting Matthew’s ears. He was suddenly reminded why he didn’t like spending time in here.

The merman jumped a little at the sudden shake. He wondered what it could be, after all, not even people running along the top of the pipe could make it shake like that. Was it worth it to get up though? All Matthew wanted to do was lay on the comfy seaweed bed after all. His decision was made for him though when another vibration and loud pounding was sent through the pipe. He decided he should get up.

Lazily flapping his tail, he pushed himself out of the pipe, still on his back, and as soon as his torso exited the pipe, and fresh water flushed against is gills. He felt like he was in heaven for a moment. Mat stared up at the distorted surface of the water, there was a face above the water, and it waved at him. The merman squinted, getting closer. He surfaced noticing the man was just Jason, holding two take out boxes in his hands. 

“There you are Matthew, you had me worried for a bit that you had gone missing.” 

“Sorry.” Matthew mumbled. Now Jason knew something was up.

“It’s not very often I find you over here, is something wrong?” 

“Yeah.” Was all Matthew responded with, sighing. He said nothing as he came up to the edge of the pipe, climbing up it’s rounded shape much easier than the dock, though, with a little bit of help from Jason as well.

“I’m all ears buddy,” Jason reassured, passed the merman a take-out box. Mat opened the still warm box to find some yummy looking poutine starting back at him. There was a Canadian joke in there somewhere, but Matthew was a little to lazy to look for it. A plastic fork was held his way, “Is the poutine okay?” The dirty blond asked, noticing Matthew staring at his food like it was some alien substance.

“Yeah, it’s fine.” Matthew just wasn’t very hungry right now.

“So, what’s up Mat?” The way Jason asked seemed far too casual for Matthew’s current mood. His gaze shifted from his caudal fin distorted under the water, and his poutine in his hands, uneasy. He might as well tell Jason, it would at least make him feel better, even if he thought his relationship with Stephanie was over at this point. Even thinking about her name made his heart sink to the bottom of the sea.

“Steph found out about my acting.” Mat said somberly. 

“So,” Jason raised an eyebrow, “Shouldn’t that be a good thing?” Like usual, Jason had completely misread the situation. Mat just scuffed, use to it.

“Well, she thinks I’ve been acting around her.” Mat continued, visibly upset.

“Have you been acting around her?” Matthew glared. He was really not helping much.

“We’ve been over this Jason!” Matthew threw his free hand in the air in his normal eccentric demeaner.

“Careful Mat, you’ll drop your poutine!” Jason spoke suddenly. Matthew just rolled his eyes, “That poutine was like, twelve dollars.” Matthew just glared, pretending that the exchange didn’t happened.

“I’ve never acted around Steph, I can’t help but… not be myself around her. I don’t know why.” Jason raised an eyebrow.

“Then how did she find out that you were acting?” Matthew just wanted to toss Jason’s stupid twelve-dollar poutine into the ocean for making him explain the situation, like he hadn’t been over it a million times in his head already.

“Look I was with Ro, and Steph showed up, and I asked Rosanna if she wanted to meet her. It was such a stupid idea because I can’t play two people at once! And sure, Ro left when I asked her too ‘cause I couldn’t keep the act up around Steph, but then Steph started assuming that I’d been acting around her the whole time, but she didn’t give me a chance to explain, and she started crying and now… now I just feel… awful,” Mat avoided Jason’s gaze. Mat wished he was back in the water, at least that way no one could see his eyes beginning to well, “What sucks the most is that I can’t even explain anything to her because I’m suck in this-this! Stupid freaking ocean!” Matthew’s voice stammered through his speech. Jason’s heart hurt almost just as much as his fish friends, the situation really couldn’t have seen bleaker for him. All this heart break over a misunderstanding too? Awful.

“Well, it’s not really your fault. I dou-!” Jason tried to reassure.

“How is it not my fucking fault Jason?!” Matthew stared at Jason with malice, blinking his eyes as much as he could in a fruitless attempt to fight back tears, “If I had never started acting in the freaking first place I never would have been in this situation!” Jason hadn’t thought about the situation in that way before. Jason was more thinking that this situation was more Steph’s fault since she hadn’t given Matthew a chance to explain, but Jason decided to stay silent for a moment, allowing Matthew time to regain his composer. Heated breathes came from Matthew’s chest, and he felt his gills frill from the strong air flow passing through his body. He was trying hard not to cry.

A few minutes passed, and Jason had pulled out his phone in the meantime while waiting for Matthew to cool down a little bit.

“She said she was a marine biologist, right?” Matthew’s brows knitted together.

“Why does that matter right now?” Matthew demanded, voice still wavering.

“Is she a marine biologist?” Jason asked again. Matthew huffed.

“Yes,” He said plainly, “Why does it matter?”

“Because… I think you should go talk to her, and if I can figure out where she lives, I could… probably get you there.” Matthew liked the offer, but he doubted it would work.

“And how do you plan on getting me there?” He asked, gesturing down to his tail.

“Look I’ll figure something out.” Matthew just huffed again.

“Fine.” Matthew growled. Jason finally huffed, now frustrated as well.

“Look Matthew, do you not think I’m upset about this too?” Matthew flattened, Jason put a hand on his shoulder, the merman said nothing in response, but listened, “From what I saw, and what you’ve told me Stephanie seems to really care about you at least, I can’t imagine it’d be very easy for her to just walk away like that either,” Matthew stared back down at his caudal fin. He hated admitting it, but Jason was right. Why was Jason always right? “Do you not want to see her again?” Mat’s heart lifted a bit at the thought of seeing her again.

“I would.” He said softly.

“Then I will do my best to help you,” Matthew smiled. Mat was reminded again about how thankful he was for his friendship with him, “Now finish your poutine, I’m not letting that twelve bucks go to waste.” Matthew chuckled a little.

“Yes mom.” He said sarcastically, taking a bite of his poutine, suddenly finding himself very hungry.

…

Jason felt like he had been looking for parking for hours, when in reality, it had been more like fifteen minutes. It was still a long time to look for parking though. Either way, after fifteen minutes of searching, Jason finally found a parking spot free a few blocks away from his destination. He hadn’t been sure how long he was going to be away from his car, so he put a couple of dollars into the parking meter, giving him several hours of parking time. If it was too much, then whatever, a little extra time for the next person to park there. Jason arrived at his destination in due time, which was a warehouse like building. 

The building did have a front door, but it felt more like an unwelcoming back door from it’s metal exterior. The whole place felt rather unwelcoming, with it’s brick walls and curtained windows. Jason assumed not many people must visit, but that also meant no Girl Scout cookies. What a sad existence. Jason noticed a buzzer on the wall beside the ugly metal door though, and Jason punched the main button, hoping he had the right place.

“Hello, this is Cordato Labs, Stephanie speaking.” Good, he had the right place. The speaker on the buzzer was awful though, and if she hadn’t said her name Jason probably wouldn’t have been able to tell who was speaking.

“Hi Stephanie, it’s Jason.” Stephanie paused on the other end of the line.

“What’s up?” She asked politely enough. Even through the muffled speaker quality Jason could tell that she was a little on edge.

“Can I come in? I need to talk to you.” 

“About what? I’m kinda busy right now.” Jason bit his lip, he was hoping to get inside first before bringing up the elephant in the room.

“I need to talk to you about… umm… Matthew.” He braced for impact.

“I’d rather not talk about him Jason.” Jason definitely wasn’t as good as Matthew at thinking on his feet, or in his case, fins.

“Please Steph!” He sounded like a whining child, even though this was rather serious issue, “I think you and Matthew have had a misunderstanding.” Stephanie paused again, and Jason was starting to think that there might be a delay with her buzzer system. It wouldn’t surprise him though. Steph didn’t want to answer, “I’ll buy you something!” Jason pleaded.

“Will you buy me a McFlurry?” Steph asked.

“Sure!” Jason replied quickly. He heard Steph sigh on the other end, it sounded sad.

“Alright, I’ll let you in,” He heard the line go silent for a minute, waiting for a beep, or chime that would alert him that the door was unlocked, but it never came. Instead, a few moments later the doorknob started to jiggle, and the door opened, revealing a tired looking Stephanie with her hair pulled into a messy bun, “Come in.” She said nicely. Jason nodded, following her inside.

Jason stepped his way into Steph’s lab with careful paces. It looked much nicer on the inside than on the outside. Sturdy tables were set up on the floor along with other scientific things like microscopes, books, and a few test tubs all organized neatly, but not meticulously. A computer with a two-monitors set up sat on the corner of one of the tables, a mug with something in it nearby. What drew most of Jason’s attention though was the massive tank that took up at least forty percent of the main floor, having a metal walkway all the way around the top edge of the tank, accessible by some stairs. The tank looked super tall as well, which explained why the building was three stories high, when he thought it really shouldn’t have been. The tank was currently empty, but it was still impressive to say the least. 

Stephanie pulled out one of her work chairs for Jason, while she took to her okay looking office chair to sit. Jason took the seat, unsure of where he would have started, if it wasn’t for the fact that he heard meowing coming from the back of the room, only to see a white and brown cat emerge itself next to Stephanie in seconds.

“Oh sorry!” Stephanie started, “I should have asked if you were allergic to cats.”

“I’m not, it’s okay.” Jason answered. Steph picked up the tubby cat and placed the kitty on her lap.

“This is Skip by the way.” 

“He’s really cute.” Was all Jason had to say about the cat before it decided it didn’t want to sit on it’s owner’s lap and scuttled off. He thought it was rather ironic that Stephanie owned a cat.

“Sorry if he bothers you,” Stephanie stated.

“I don’t think he will.” Jason answered. Awkward silence settled again, Stephanie watching her cat as he trotted around for a moment. 

“So…” Stephanie began, finally getting to the topic at hand.

“I just wanna start by saying I’ve known Matthew for a long time.” 

“Okay,” Steph said back, reaching behind her to grab the mug on her desk, taking a sip, of whatever was in there, “Why does this matter?” She asked.

“Because I’ve known about Mat’s acting for a long time as well.” Stephanie’s brows instantly began to knit together. 

“So, you’re saying you’ve known that he’s been lying to me the entire time he’s known me?”

“He’s hardly been lying to you,” Jason rebutted, “I don’t think he could if he tried.” Jason said afterwards, slightly quieter.

“He could be lying to you too, you know?” Jason just stared, unamused. 

“I know, but trust me when I say he’s not,” She was curious, “Look Steph, I pass by that beach everyday on my way home from work, I saw Matthew there a lot, and I saw what he was doing. He has a lot of different roles, and he does it because it’s how he gets people to feed him, by acting as who they want him to be.”

“How do you know he’s not acting to you?” Stephanie asked, still not convinced.

“Because I saw what he was doing, and I confronted him, and I became his first real friend. I’ve been helping where I can since, mostly by feeding him, but also by trying to help him be a better person.” Steph took a drink, “He hates what he’s doing you know.”

“Acting?” Steph asked. Jason nodded.

“He has real friendships with the people he acts around. He really cares about them, and he wants to be himself with them, but I think he just feels like… he’s in too deep.” Stephanie stared at her drink. She now understood why Jason had come to talk to her.

“So… even if he was playing someone else around me, he would still care about me?” 

“Yes,” Jason confirmed, “And he’s not acting around you.” 

“How come?” Stephanie asked regardless. 

“Because he really likes you,” Jason chuckled a little, “He can’t help but be himself around you,” Steph found her heartbeat quickening a little, “I just think he put himself into a bad situation back when he was with you and Rosanna,” Steph’s gut suddenly felt the heavy weight of guilt, thinking back to that scene. She had jumped to a conclusion really quickly back then, “Mat thinks that he’s ruined your guys’ relationship with his acting,” Steph felt like she had just been punched in the stomach with guilt, good timing Jason, “He thinks he’s never goanna see you again.” Ouch. 

Steph went silent for a few moments. Jason knew that it was her fault for jumping to conclusions, and he was glad that she felt guilty for her actions, but it still didn’t make the situation any less easy to sit through. Jason continued, she needed to hear this stuff.

“When Mat first told me about you, I told him it’d be a good chance for him to have a real relationship with someone. When you think about it, you’re the first real friend he’s ever made on his own. Trust me when I say he got pretty depressed after you just up and left,” Stephanie felt like crying. Jason was back at it again by being accidentally hurtful while just trying to help. Stephanie paused again for a good while, “I think you should see him again, I’m sure he’d like to see you.” Stephanie’s lips curled slightly at the thought of seeing Matthew again.

“Yeah… I think I will.” Jason grinned. Mission accomplished. 

“Awesome! Now if you’re not too busy, how about that McFlurry? I kinda want one too.” Stephanie’s eyes lit up at the sound of McFlurry.

“Sounds like a great idea. I’ll get my shoes and stuff.” Jason nodded.

“Let’s walk, I’ve got some ideas I wanna share with you anyways.”

…

Stephanie’s sandals were already filled with sand. She had been on the beach for less than three minutes, and she could already feel the grains getting in between her toes. She was to blame for this though, as she had been trudging through the sand without a care after all. She was on a mission, a mission to get to that damned dock as fast as possible.

It was an ungodly hour, at least somewhere around 12:30am, at least that’s what time it was when she had left her place, so it was probably later now. Or maybe it wasn’t that ungodly, I mean I am writing this at 12:30am and I’m probably goanna be here until 2:00am, but hey, that’s enough fourth wall breaking for one night. Steph had tried to sleep, but she couldn’t. Her mind was racing with guilt, among other things. After what Jason had told her, she couldn’t help but continue to think about how much guilt Mat must have to live through every day. Her guilt seemed microscopic compared to what she was imagining Matthew was going through. The guilt, however small it was though, still drove her out of sleeplessness, getting her ready for a late-night beach visit in record time.

She could see the dock she had been driven too now. The beach was empty. Good. She raced her way down the beach, though she was careful on the dock, as it was still damp. She learned her lesson the last time. The sooner she got to see Matthew, the sooner she could apologize, and have this guilt rid of her. 

The sooner she could see Matthew.

She got to the end of the dock, and she began to take off her sandals recklessly, so recklessly in fact that she pulled one of them off so fast that it flew off her foot into the ocean below.

“Shit.” She swore. She was suddenly very glad that no one was around to hear her. She bit her tongue regardless, grabbing her phone from her drawstring bag and turning on its light, trying to spot the already sunk shoe. Gosh, if Matthew was here he could have just dived down and got her sandal for her… wait, was her shoe coming… back up? He surfaced gently, his eyes gleaming hazel like they had the first night they had met.

“Could you please get that light out of my eyes.” Matthew stated harshly. That was not what she was expecting him to say, but Stephanie turned the light off on her phone regardless and put it aside. 

“Sorry.” She said quickly, guilt beginning to pile up in her gut, yet, her heart racing. Matthew put Steph’s soaked sandal up on the edge of the dock, not saying a word about it.

“Why are you here?” He asked calmly, she couldn’t tell what he was feeling, he was neutral. 

“I… I came here to apologize.” Matthew’s eyes widened. He wasn’t expecting her to say that. 

“I want to apologize too,” Stephanie already knew that from what Jason had told her, but she just fiddled with her hair, unsure of how to continue, “I never should have tried to hide my acting from you. If I had, we wouldn’t be here now.”

“No Matthew, I should be the one apologizing,” She stated firmly, Matthew bit his lip, “I should have never assumed that you were acting around me, I should have let you explain. I feel horrible about not letting you explain. I never realized how… stupid I was being until Jason came to see me.” 

“Jason saw you?” Matthew asked. Stephanie nodded.

“He did, earlier today. He explained everything to me,” Everything. Vague. Yet, just clear enough, “I feel like crap Matthew.” Mat stared down into the water.

“Now you know how I feel.” He sulked.

“I could never know how you feel Matthew. I can’t imagine what kind of guilt you must deal with everyday.” Matthew looked aside, unable to make eye contact. He paused.

“I hate it… I hate myself for it.” Stephanie’s heart sank.

“You shouldn’t hate yourself.” Matthew blinked, frowning.

“Why shouldn’t I? I’m a disgusting vermin who lies to other people just to feed myself. I think that’s pretty hate worthy.” Stephanie’s face turned shocked.

“Matthew don’t say that!” Matthew couldn’t bring himself to look at Steph, “Look at me Matthew,” That was no request. He forced his eyes on hers, “Do you… like hating yourself?” It was a redundant question, but she needed to ask it.

“Hardly.” 

“Then why don’t you change? If you hate… hating yourself so much, then why not stop?”

“It’s not that easy Steph.” Steph was beginning to panic.

“Then I’ll help you. I’ll-I’ll put you through acting rehab if I have too!” Matthew smiled a little at her last statement, a little amused, but not enough to laugh. A silence passed between them, each of them staring back into each others’ eyes. Stephanie calmed with a few breaths.

“I’m sorry Matthew.” 

“I’m sorry too, Steph.”

“No, don’t apologize Matthew! You don’t need too!” Matthew blinked.

“Why-!”

“Matthew, I want you to promise me that you’ll start getting better. That you’ll stop acting.” Matthew looked back down into the ocean. He had wanted to stop acting for a long time now, he knew it would help him with his guilt and self hatred, and if his almost lost relationship with Stephanie stood for anything, it was a wake-up call. 

“I… don’t know if I can.” He spoke the truth.

“I know you can,” Stephanie reassured, “I believe in you,” That was all Matthew needed to hear. He knew he could do it now, and as cheesy as it sounded, he felt like he could do anything with Stephanie at his side, “I… I like you a lot Matthew,” Her face lit up with blush. Matthew’s heart fluttered, “I’ll always believe in you.”

They couldn’t help themselves. They got closer. They got as close as they could, letting their lips get as close they could. She didn’t notice that she was being pulled into the water. It didn’t matter. He didn’t notice that her hands were on his gills. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered in that moment, nothing but the fact that they were together, drowning together.

They surfaced only when Stephanie’s face started to turn blue, but the tint of her cheeks was still visible, the sweetest of smiles on her face. Matthew mimicked, a hand pushing a stray hair from her face.

Tell me what I want to hear.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.” 

They got closer. Closer then god knows, for god know how long.

…

Mat lay sunbathing on top the big old pipe at the beach. Today had been a boring day, not a lot of people came to the beach today, probably because fall was fast approaching. The cooler weather meant less people at the beach, and ultimately, less food for Matthew. It looked like Matthew was going to be back to living off a meal a day from Jason… or actually, two meals a day now thanks to Stephanie, and Steph would even come on weekends too! Matthew smiled at the thought of the girl, basking in the last few dying rays of the summer sun. 

Matthew’s basking was interrupted when the pipe began to shake lightly, indicating someone was walking down it. Matthew checked his mental clock, it wasn’t time for Jason to be here yet, so who was it? Mat sat up, his tail flipping gently in his happiness. There, walking down the pipe was a slightly warmer dressed Rosanna, waving to Mat cutely as she saw him get up. She seemed much happier.

Matthew, was not very happy though, as he was beginning to panic. He had promised Stephanie that he was going to stop acting, or in other words, be honest with his friends. He hadn’t seen Ro since that discussion with Steph, and he was nervous. He swallowed a clump of spit in his mouth. Could he do this? Could he confess to Ro about his lies? Would she get mad at him? Would she not want to be friends with him anymore? Would she hate him? Matthew’s panic grew, he wanted to dive back into the ocean and run away from the situation.

Matthew turned his body around, ignoring the incoming Ro. His caudal fin was now in the water, all he had to do was let himself slide into the water, and he’d be home free, yet, he couldn’t move.

“I believe in you.” Stephanie’s words from the other night rang through his head, and suddenly, his heart rate lowered, and his breathing returned to normal. Stephanie believed in him. He could do this. 

He would do this.

“Hi Mat.” A careful voice spoke from behind him. Mat turned around to see Ro standing behind him, a gentle smile on her lips.

“H-Hi Ro,” The comment came out in his Gay Matthew voice from habit, but he forced himself to drop it, “H-How are you?” It sounded more like himself. Good. 

Ro came and sat down next to Mat, but not before taking a beach towel out of her bag and placing it down on the pipe. Looks like she didn’t want to get wet and gross today, understandable. 

“I’m good,” Her voice was cautious, she could tell something was up, “How about you?” Matthew huffed, avoiding eye contact.

“I’ve... been better.” Matthew stated truly, watching as his tail swished nervously in the water, creating quiet a lot of noise. 

“I know how that feels.” Ro said back, picking some seaweed off the pipe and throwing it into the ocean ahead. Matthew didn’t know how to continue, like usual. He fiddled with his fins in nervous habit. He didn’t understand how Ro could stay so calm next to him, smiling gently whilst looking out to the afternoon sun, but then again, she didn’t know what was to come. Matthew guessed this must be one of those situations where he should just say something and see where it goes. His gay demeaner had faded, and Ro knew something was up, now was his chance.

“Ro, I need to tell you something.” Matthew suddenly asked.

“That you’re not gay?” Ro answered for him, and Matthew’s eyes widened in surprise.

“How did yo-!”

“I saw the way you looked at that girl, Stephanie. It wasn’t hard too tell,” Matthew was glad that she had very politely avoided the odd situation that the three of them had been in that day, but, was Matthew really that obvious? Matthew bit his tongue.

“I’m… sorry I never told you.” Ro huffed.

“It’s okay Mat-!”

“No, Ro, it’s not okay!” Matthew could feel himself getting a little fired up, so he took a breath to calm himself for the storm about to come, “I’ve been… lying to you. I’m not actually gay.” They had been over that point already, but Matthew’s repetition was excused.

“What do you mean?” Ro asked quickly.

“I’ve been… playing a character around you. I’m not actually gay, I’m not actually that over the top gay guy who always talks about wieners alright! I play different characters around people, so they’ll feed me,” Ro blinked, hands resting on her lap, “I’m sorry that I’ve lied to you the entire time that I’ve known you, and if you hate me, or don’t want to be my friend anymore I get it, you never have to see me again if you don’t want to. I did it because I was starving and I’m just as ashamed of himself for it as you must be!” Rosanna gasped, looking to the merman who had his head in his hands. She wasn’t sure how to take in all the information. She could imagine that Matthew wasn’t actually gay, maybe he was just bi or something, but the fact that he had made up an entire different personality when he was around her? All just to get food. Ro was a little mad.

With Mat still not looking at Ro, though with his head out of hands, he let himself slip off the pipe into the ocean below. He had done it, he had confessed, he could go now, right? He still felt ashamed of himself.

“Matthew!” Ro called out when he slipped into the ocean. Mat saw the smaller girl stare down at him from the surface of the water. She looked angry from what Mat could make out from below the water. She was pointing at him and yelling through the water. He expected this, he expected her to be mad, it didn’t stop the hurt though. He knew that when the cautious Ro plugged her hand into the water swishing to the merman that it was probably his que to surface again. If he had to be yelled at, so be it. He had brought this upon himself after all. Matthew swam his way back up, feeling Ro’s hand brush his wet hair as he came back up above the water, “Matthew!” She finally heard her say clearly. She sounded more like a concerned mother then an angry friend. It surprised Matthew.

“I’m sorry.” Matthew said out of reflex. He looked back down into the water. The inside of that pipe was starting to seem very appealing again.

“Matthew, you- you-! Look at me Mat!” Matthew’s gaze jumped up to Rosanna’s, it wasn’t angry, it was worried, “Mat if you needed food that badly then why didn’t you just say something? You didn’t need to play a character around me to do that.” Matthew blinked, he was seriously surprised. 

“Are you not… mad at me?” Matthew wondered.

“I’m-I’m more… mad at you for suffering silently mister! Why didn’t you tell anyone?” Matthew fiddled with his fins in the water again.

“I thought people would have seen me as some kind of… disgusting vermin. Like a rat, or pigeon.” He also secretly didn’t want pity food either, even though in theory, that’s the kind of food he’d been getting all his life.

“Matthew! You’re not a rat, you’re a beautiful merman. People don’t think mermen are ‘Disgusting vermin’.” Matthew smiled a little, though, still thinking what he did was scummy.

“Really?”

“Yes! I could have found you a place as a show merman if you had told me you were starving!” Matthew didn’t want to be a show merman though, and he really didn’t want to live in a tank, that’s for sure, but now probably wasn’t the best time to bring that up. He still needed reassurance.

“So, do you… hate me?” The merman asked. Ro sat back to think, not good.

“No… I don’t hate you,” Ro smiled, gentle, like a mother, “I’m more angry right now.” Matthew expected that.

“Do you… still want to be friends with me. Even after all of this crap?” Ro had to sit back to think again. She was mad at him, she could not deny that, but did she still want to be friends with him? Ro couldn’t deny that she had grown to care for the merman, if she hadn’t cared about him she would have left already, though he had used her, in some sense. It was a shame that he had to resort to using people to get his food, but Mat seemed truly remorseful of his actions. Oh, if she only knew the guilt that plagued the merman. She didn’t want to hate him. It’s a burden to carry hate after all.

“Yes. I do care about you Matthew, but I’ll need to do some thinking about it,” Matthew found a cautious smile on his face, “But tell me if you’re hungry! I don’t want to see you starving!” This had gone somewhat better then Matthew had expected.

“Rosanna,” Matthew spoke, the girl in question blinked, “Thank you,” Ro blinked again, “I was so scared you’d hate me.”

“Hate is such a burden to carry. It’s better to forgive people,” Matthew thought truer words hadn’t been spoken. Matthew pulled himself back onto the pipe with some effort, “Plus, you do seem really sorry.”

“Yeah, I am,” Matthew repeated, “I feel like fish poop for using you and… well, just about everyone else that I’ve met.” Ro paused, wondering, before asking.

“What made you stop then?” Matthew looked to the sky, smiling.

“I’ve wanted to stop for a while actually, but I guess I just needed someone to give me a push.” 

“Was that Stephanie?” Matthew giggled.

“Mostly,” He spoke, and silence took over the two, the silence didn’t last long though, as Matthew spoke again, “I’m still really sorry though.” Ro huffed, a little annoyed by Matthew’s constant apologizing.

“It’s okay Mat. I’d rather get to know the real you anyways.” 

Matthew had a sudden idea and held a damp hand out to the girl he sat beside. 

“Well then, my name is Matthew, just, Matthew.” Ro took his damp hand, smiling, and shook.

“I’m Rosanna, it’s nice to met you, Just Matthew.” Matthew just rolled his eyes. It was good to finally introduce himself.

…

Matthew lay with his back on the damp dock, his caudal fin still submerged in the water off the dock. It certainly wasn’t as warm as it was a few weeks ago. Fall was coming, a lonely time of year for Matthew. This year though, Matthew thought Fall might not be as lonely for him this year, he had Stephanie to visit him now after all. But all his feelings for the girl did not help his other worries. He still worried if living off two meals a day was going to be enough for him, and he now had very few close friends that would come to him on the colder days, only to hopefully bring food.

Mat had come out of the closet to most of his closer friends about his acting, and some like Ro, had taken it rather well, but some… well some others did exactly what he expected. Life wasn’t always just sunshine and rainbows after all. Either way Matthew’s feelings had been hurt, and he knew he deserved it in some sense, but he was getting over it. Slowly, but surely. Slowly.

The merman did not know exactly what time it had been, but he knew from his mental clock that it was about time for Stephanie to show up with his meal for the day. He was truly more excited about seeing Stephanie than the meal she was to bring her, despite how many diet cokes it may come with. It was true, he had finally found something he liked more than diet coke, and that was Stephanie.

His mental clock was confirmed right when he heard someone walking down the dock, and he opened his eyes, sitting up, wondering just who it could be. Low and behold, it was Stephanie carrying a fabric grocery bag, and a smile found it’s way onto Mat’s face, along with his cheeks warming. Mat pulled his caudal fin out of the less than warm water, turning around to face his favourite girl.

“Hi Mat!” Stephanie spoke, placing her bag down as she got to the merman.

“Hey Steph.” Mat replied, giving her a gentle smile. She looked great today. She sat down on the bench of the dock.

“How are you doing?” Steph asked casually. Mat decided he wanted to sit next to the girl on the bench, and he flopped his way over to the bench, getting a little help from Steph to finally sit comfortably. Sometimes he hated being half fish.

“I’ve been… as good as I can be.” The merman answered honestly.

“Have you come out of the closet to anyone else?” Mat hated the way she worded that sentence. Steph began to pull some Tupperware containers from her plastic bag. Mat giggled a little.

“No… I haven’t talked to anyone today actually,” He nudged the girl’s arm, “I got to see you though.” Steph blushed, handing the merman a now open container of wild rice and pan-fried chicken, still steaming warm with a fork sticking out of the rice.

“Eat up you dork. You need it.” Matthew only huffed in defeat, gladly beginning to chow down on his food while Stephanie on his left did the same. She silently slid the merman a diet coke along with one for herself, which was just the cherry on top for Matthew.

“Not many people come here when the weather gets cold.” Matthew remarked from before. Stephanie’s chewing slowed for a moment, and she swallowed before speaking.

“Really?” Stephanie asked. Matthew finished his bite of rice before continuing.

“Yeah, I mean it makes sense. Most of the time the only person I see during the fall and winter is Jason,” Mat slipped an arm around Stephanie’s shoulders, “But, I’ve got someone else to keep my company this year.” Stephanie flushed. She got closer. She noticed Mat was shivering a bit. She noticed how cold Matthew’s hand was, and his tail, it no longer gleamed with warm oranges and reds, but now looked blue, stiff, and cold. Stephanie bit her lip. Matthew was certainly gobbling down his food rather fast too. He couldn’t look happier, but the signs were still there.

“Matthew.” Stephanie spoke, a sudden worry to her voice. The tone of her voice made Mat pause mid diet coke sip.

“Yeah Steph?” The merman responded.

“Are you… sure you’re going to be okay this fall?” Matthew blinked, finishing his diet coke sip.

“I’ve survived the cold seasons here before Steph, I’ll be fine.” Yeah, he had just barely survived them. That was not what she wanted to hear.

“Mat I’ve been thinking.” Mat blinked at the sudden seriousness of Stephanie’s voice. He moved his arm from her shoulders.

“About what?” The merman asked.

“Matthew, I… I’ve been thinking about letting you stay at my lab, instead of the beach.” Mat huffed, staring down into his rice. He didn’t want to live in a tank, it was something he said to himself that he would never do. Unless…

“I’d rather starve then live in a tank.” His own words repeated in his mind.

The idea sounded differently coming from Stephanie though, and unlike like last time, he decided to keep his mouth shut, and let Stephanie continue.

“I know you said you’d never live in a tank, but I don’t think I could keep you healthy on my own with you on the beach,” Matthew stared, “I’ve been talking to Jason about this Matthew. We both think it’s for the best. I could take care of you way better in my lab then out here,” Stephanie did have a point. He had been offered to be a show merman many times before, and he would have been good at it with his acting skills, but he didn’t want to be treated like a piece of fish meat. He had been offered a lifetime security many times before, but the same proposal seemed different coming from Stephanie, “It doesn’t have to be forever either Matthew. You could stay just for the cold seasons if you want, and I could take you back to the beach whenever you wanted.”

“Stephanie, I still have friends here, I can’t just up and leave them.” Steph paused, thinking.

“I wouldn’t mind having your friends visit you at the lab,” She again, had a good point, and considering what he’s been doing recently, he didn’t have the biggest number of friends anymore, “Could you, at least try living with me Matthew?”

The merman’s eyebrows lifted in undisputable defeat. It really would be for the best. There were one too many pros, and not enough cons. A healthy amount of food, a temperature controllable tank, no idiot teenagers skinny dipping in the middle of the night waking him up, a possible infinite supple of diet coke, and most of all, living with Stephanie. He wouldn’t be a piece of pretty eye candy with Stephanie, he would be cared for, looked after, and most importantly, loved. 

Mat looked to his tail. It was gleaming a sad baby blue now, looking cold. Mat noticed the shivering of his arms, along with the goosebumps that covered them. His hands were cold. It wasn’t too bad right now, but he knew it would get worse.

Mat turned to Stephanie. She was looking at him with such concern, and sincerity that he had never seen before, and despite his cooling body, he felt his chest warm up.

All he had to do was try, right?

Mat was unconsciously smiling as he grabbed Stephanie’s hand.

“All I have to do is try, right?” Stephanie’s shy smile finally showed on her face.

“Yes Matthew, that’s all,” She said simply, “And I believe in you.”

That was all he needed to hear.

He got closer. 

The space between them was no more for a mere moment.

That was his answer.

“You taste like diet coke.”

…

Hello all,

My name is Matthew. I’m a merman who use to live at this beach. I’m sure you might have seen me before.

I would like to apologize to everyone who might have met me before, as I am certain that I lied to you. I used to act to gain people’s trust, and much like a pigeon in New York City, use that trust, and a little acting flair, to get food from people.

I am incredibly sorry to anyone I have ever used in this way, and I truly feel guilty for my actions.

I no longer live at this beach, as I have found another place to live temporarily.

If you would ever like to see me again, please take one of the contact slips below.

I am truly sorry.

Matthew Cordato.

…

Stephanie finally plopped down onto her bed, tired as all get out. Matthew the merman lay next to her on her bed, for real this time. If it wasn’t for real, then she wouldn’t have coated her whole bed in towels, as to not let the fish man ruin her bedsheets. It had been a hassle to get Matthew up stairs from the tank, it involved a lot of useless pulling on Stephanie’s part, and quiet a bit of army crawling from Mat. Stephanie didn’t even know how Mat had managed to get up the stairs, but he had managed it alright. There was now a trail of shed scales and tank water from the lab to her bedroom, but Stephanie didn’t care, she’d clean it later. 

Stephanie huffed as she sank down into her bed. It was a little scratchy from the towels that lined it, but it wasn’t too annoying. Her feet hurt from everything she had done that day, including pulling the merman who was truly much bigger than she was up to her room. She was suddenly envious of his tail. Mat’s tail reflected the yellow light of Steph’s bedside table lamp, and the merman was flopping it happily.

“Tired?” Mat asked when he heard Stephanie huff. Steph responded by sinking lower into her towel covered bed.

“Yes.” She responded firmly. Matthew smiled, whipping his damp hand on the towels bellow him before grabbing her hand. Stephanie felt her heart skip like usual. Her feet didn’t feel as sore now.

“Then it’s time to sleep.” Matthew responded. Stephanie bit her lip in concern.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay up here though? You’ve never slept outside of the tank before.” 

“I used to sleep on top of that pipe on the beach sometimes. I was always fine, but I did usually wake up craving a swim.” 

“Are you sure you’ll be alright?” She asked again, rolling over on her side to face Matthew. Matthew responded by doing the same.

“I’m sure I will Steph. If anything, you should be the one calling the shots, you’re the marine biologist after all.” Matthew was right, he didn’t have a set of lungs for nothing after all. Steph still hoped his fishy half would be okay though. Matthew rolled over onto his back again. It seemed more comfortable for him. 

Matthew had been living at Stephanie’s lab for just a little over a week now, and Stephanie could strongly say that she had never seen the merman happier. Steph had been given him a healthy three meals a day, something she was sure Matthew had never truly experienced. In between her research sessions she would come up to the edge of the tank and talk with Mat. After so many years of living alone, it had been nice to have someone around to talk to, even if he was half fish, and no matter how much Stephanie talked to Skip when she was alone, he still didn’t count.

Speaking of the devil, the couple heard a sudden meow as the cat poked its head through the still open door and into the bedroom. The cat skipped his tubby body up to Stephanie’s bed and jumped on top. Normally she wouldn’t have an issue with Skip sleeping in her bed, but today she had a half fish man next to her tonight. Owning a cat as a marine biologist was problematic.

“Hey buddy.” Matthew spoke in his best baby voice, giving the cat a few scratches behind his ears with his free hands. Despite Matthew’s fish instincts, Matthew was okay around Skip. It surprised Stephanie to say the least. 

What Stephanie did not expect though, was Skip hopping up on Matthew’s chest, and beginning to lick at his face. He probably tasted like fish. Matthew was instantly set into a giggling fit, the cat’s paws on his chest and scratchy tongue against his cheeks causing him to laugh. Stephanie truly did not understand why Matthew wasn’t the slightest bit afraid of Skip, but then again, he was just a tubby house cat, what amount of damage could he do to a merman? 

“You sound like a dolphin when you laugh.” Stephanie remarked as she watched Mat struggle with the cat. Matthew managed to pick up the cat and get him off his chest with no scratches. Skip struggled in Matthew’s grasp, obviously not wanting to be picked up. Matthew let him go, and he jumped off the bed and out of the room.

“Last time I checked I wasn’t half dolphin.” Matthew responded.

“Last time I checked you were half Featherfin Cichlid.” Stephanie said back.

“Really?” Matthew asked out of genuine curiosity. 

“At least I’m about ninety percent sure.” 

“Huh,” Matthew learned something new about himself today, or at least, he was ninety percent sure he did. He rolled back over onto his side to face Stephanie, “Do you know what I’m a hundred percent certain of though?” He asked. Steph smiled.

“What?” She asked.

“That I love you.” 

They got closer. 

“I love you too.”

They stayed close.

…

**Author's Note:**

> 2018-01-27, 9:15pm -
> 
> OMG, I AM DONE THIS FIC. 
> 
> Okay hi. I'm Crow. I came up with this idea for this fic ages ago, and I actually decided to write it. I started writing this all the way back on the 9th, so it basically took me three weeks to finish this fic. I have never been so invested in writing something my entire life.
> 
> I am so proud of this fic I almost didn't want to post it, but I promised all my friends I'd send it to them when I was finished so I guess I have too. IDK why I was so uncomfortable posting this, but if I really don't like it then I guess I could always just take it down.
> 
> Either way I don't have much else to say but I hope you enjoyed this fic.
> 
> Aight then, see ya!
> 
> Crow~


End file.
